


Assassin

by Steve_the_dragon



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous major character death, I really dislike Campbell okay, M/M, otp prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 21:29:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3705337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steve_the_dragon/pseuds/Steve_the_dragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snake is sent to take out a hacker who tries to break into FOXHOUND's system. Should be simple, right? </p>
<p>Unfortunately for Solid Snake, nothing is ever simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Assassin

"What's this?" Snake asked, looking down at the picture Campbell had just placed on the desk in front of him, taking a drag of his cigarette. 

"Your next target." Campbell told him, folding his arms. Snake picked up the photograph to examine it, blowing out a cloud of smoke and leaning back in his chair, putting his boots on the desk. If Campbell was irritated by this, he didn't show it, well used to the mannerisms of his best assassin. 

The photograph showed a young man with longish, brownish hair and round glasses. He was somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties, going by the photograph, and held himself with an incredibly nervous demeanour. He didn't look anything like Snake's usual targets. 

"Who is he?" He asked. 

"His name is Dr Hal Emmerich, also known as Otacon." Campbell told him. "He's a genius hacker and engineer." 

"Him?" Snake looked down at the picture again, and snorted. "Sure, he looks like the type. But what've you got against him, huh?" 

"He's been attempting to break into our systems. We need him taken out." Campbell told him. 

"Breaking into our system? How the hell did he find out about us, I thought we were supposed to be a top secret organisation?" Snake asked. 

"This does not concern you. Any other information regarding the target is beyond your brief. We have intel that he's going to be in Detroit in two day's time. Your mission is to find him, and take him out by any means necessary. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, sir." Snake sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out on the ash tray. He stretched, his joints cracking, before swinging his boots off the table and rolling to his feet with an easy, leonine movement. "I'll go and get ready then." 

 

The next day, and Snake was propping up a bar in Detroit, glaring at the bottom of his beer bottle. How the hell had it come to this, huh? He had been Solid Snake, one of the world's greatest soldiers and a member of the Special Operations Unit FOXHOUND, America's top special forces unit.

But then, Big Boss, FOXHOUND's commander, had gone rogue and become a terrorist, threatening the world with nuclear annihilation. Twice. Snake himself had stopped him both times, but in order to stay afloat, FOXHOUND had had to become much more accountable to the government. That meant becoming less of a special ops unit and more of an elite clean up squad, sent to get rid of anyone and everyone who the government wanted disposed of. It wasn't that different, he supposed, just with a lot more interference and a lot less morals. He missed how it had been before Zanzibar, even before Outer Heaven, when they may have been working under a terrorist but at least they hadn't sold their souls. 

After the Zanzibarland incident, Snake had gone into retirement, partly to recover from the trauma of having to kill his ex-CO for the second time, and partly because he had a fair few charges attatched to his name, insubordination being one. It turned out that superior officers didn't like their soldiers to question their orders after they've been forced to kill their ex-CO, and their best friend. Or when they break out of a top secret base to run away into retirement. Funny that. 

 

Snake sighed, taking a drag from his cigarette. Alaska had seemed like such a good idea. Nice scenery, about as remote as you can get, impressive wildlife. Not to mention the dogs. He loved dogs, huskies especially, and they like him seemed to enjoy the cold remoteness of the Alaskan wilderness. The perfect place to get over a lifetime of trauma quietly, under the radar of anyone who wanted to find him. 

Or so he'd thought. He'd been in Alaska a grand total of two years before armed soldiers had broken into his house and literally dragged him out of retirement. He hadn't exactly gone quietly, and that added a few more charges to his now quite impressive list. It had been a choice of prison or working as part of FOXHOUND's new unit. He'd chosen the lesser of two evils. 

And that was how he'd ended up in fucking Detroit, sent to kill some kid for reasons that he didn't even fucking know. This was not how he'd seen his life ending up, if he was honest. He wasn't exactly sure where he had seen it going, but an assassin with an alcohol addiction was definitely not it. 

Still, he had a day or so before the kid showed up to do what he wanted. Maybe the kid wouldn't turn up at all, and then he could just hang around in Detroit trying to forget everything that had happened until Campbell cottoned on and sent someone out to fetch him. Wouldn't be the first time. 

 

Finishing his drink, Snake grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, heading out of the bar to find the hotel he had been booked into by Campbell, thinking of catching a nap to sleep off the drink before he found something to eat. It was about four in the afternoon, probably far too early to have drunk quite as much as he had, but as he'd been finding more and more recently, he really didn't give a shit. 

The streets were relatively quiet, not quite time for everyone to be pouring out of work, so Snake was left pretty much alone as he walked, his hands in his pockets and his head in the clouds. He wasn't really paying complete attention to the sidewalk or the road, preferring just to think about things. Like what he wouldn't give to just run away right now and hole himself back up in Alaska. More than once he'd considered it, even been on the brink of doing it. It was just the little robots they'd put in his bloodstream (without his consent, he might add) that could track his location that stopped him from doing it. 

 

Suddenly, there was a squeal of brakes, and something smacked into the side of him with serious force, sending him flying, his bag flying from his shoulder. He landed heavily on the curb a few feet away, managing to catch his jaw on the metal edge of a drain. 

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed, sitting up and wiping blood from his mouth. 

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" A voice gasped, and Snake felt hands on his shoulders, helping him up. He looked to see a young man with longish brown hair and glasses, a face he was certain he recognised. 

Holy shit.

Crouching beside him, a concerned look on his face, was Dr Hal Emmerich. Behind him was a bike, obviously the cause of their little collision. 

"Don't worry about it, kid." He muttered, removing Emmerich's hands from his shoulders and getting to his feet. He shook out his limbs, checking for injury, but luckily there was none. Except his face, and his pride. 

"Oh, God, your face! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have been going so fast, but..." Emmerich seemed to be babbling nervously. Snake rolled his eyes, the man's verbal tirade already getting on his frayed nerves. 

"I said, don't worry about it." Snake wiped the blood that was running down his chin off with his sleeve, looking for his bag. It was lying on the for a little way away, and when it picked it up it made a suspicious rattling noise.

Fuck. 

"Oh no, was there something important in there?" Emmerich asked. Snake almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Only the guns I was planning on killing you with... 

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure? It sounds broken." 

"It's fine." 

"At least let me buy you a drink or something, to say sorry." Emmerich gave him a nervous half smile, and Snake felt his earlier sour mood beginning to evaporate. What harm was one drink? He might find out something useful, after all, that would help him complete his mission. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

"All right." He said. "Gonna have to be coffee though. I've got work in the morning." 

"Not a problem, I'm not much of a drinker anyway." Emmerich held out his hand. "My name's Hal." 

"Dave." He had no idea why he gave his real name. Maybe it was the same fucking stupid instinct that told him coming here in the first place would be a good idea. 

Nonetheless, he shook the other man's hand. Emmerich seemed to relax a little, pushing his glasses up with his middle finger. 

"I know a good coffee place, if you're not busy..." 

Snake gave the barest suggestion of a smile. 

"No." He said. "I'm not busy." 

 

The coffee place turned out to be one of those generic chains, Snake wasn't really paying attention to which, but nonetheless it was pretty secluded and did some pretty decent coffee. Hal had one of those fancy drinks with more ingredients than Snake could even be bothered to try and remember, and had looked at him slightly amused when he had gone for an americano. Coffee didn't need to be complicated, that was one thing Snake was certain of. 

Hal lead him over to a little table in a booth in the corner, and Snake was glad, because though the place was quiet, there were enough people in there that his earlier irritation was beginning to return. Hal placed the drinks down on the table and sat, but Snake remained standing, glancing around the place habitually to catalogue escape routes. He also noticed a bathroom in the corner. 

"I'm just gonna go clean up." He said, indicating the blood on his face, and Hal nodded. 

"Sure." He said. "I'll keep the table." 

Snake gave him a little smile, wincing as his cut lip pulled, then headed over to the bathroom. 

 

Luckily, it seemed, the cut wasn't all that bad. Once he'd cleaned the blood off, he revealed a small split on his bottom lip, plus what looked like the beginnings of an impressive bruise on his chin. But he still had all his teeth, and that was the main thing. 

Once he'd finished washing the blood off his hands, he stared in the mirror. His dark brown hair was in need of a cut, and fell messily over his forehead, and there was a little stubble on his chin. His blue eyes looked tired, but showed no signs of his earlier inebriation. He stared at himself, trying to work out how he had become the person he saw staring back. He could still see hints of the naive 23 year old he had once been, staring down the man he had most looked up to in his life with a gun in his hand and knowing that only one of them would leave this place alive. Christ, how he'd changed since then. 

He wondered, idly, as he stared at himself, whether he should use his codec to call Campbell and update him on the situation. He had, after all, made contact with the target, and if all went well he would probably have completed the mission earlier than anticipated. That would probably make the old bastard happy, for once, but something deep inside of him rebelled at that thought. 

He sighed, washing away one final bead of blood from his face, before drying his hands and turning to head back to the table. 

 

To his mild surprise, Hal was still there when he returned. He didn't know why he expected him not to be, but somewhere in the back of his mind he assumed that Hal would realise who he was and why he was there. There was no logical reason for it, after all, he didn't really look like an assassin (except for the fact that he had a taste for dark jeans and leather jackets), and the kid seemed too naive to realise that his attempts to break into a secret government organisation's systems would put him rather high on the list of people to be got rid of. But still, something about hanging around with the man he had been sent to kill was so strange. 

"All right?" Hal asked, handing him his coffee as he sat down. 

"Fine." Snake told him. "It wasn't all that bad, really." 

"I still feel terrible. I shouldn't have been going so fast, but it looked like it was going to rain, and I didn't want my laptop to get wet." He indicated a small black leather bag at his feet that Snake had not previously noticed. 

"Huh." Snake looked down at the bag. "I'm surprised it didn't get damaged in the collision." 

"No, I, uh... I didn't fall. I really am sorry, I didn't see you." 

"It's fine." Snake insisted. "Really." 

He took a sip of his coffee. 

"So, you from round here?" He asked, mainly to keep the conversation from descending into an awkward silence. 

"No." Hal told him. "I'm just here for a few weeks. Kind of a change of scenery. What about you, you don't sound like you're from round here?" 

"No, I'm not." Snake told him. "Here for work." 

"Oh, really? What do you do?" 

"I... don't really want to talk about that." Snake said, wishing he was better at thinking about spontaneous lies. Hal looked slightly surprised by this answer, but nonetheless he carried on. 

"What's in the bag?" 

"Just work stuff." 

"Is it broken?" 

Snake glanced down at the bag at his feet. 

"It doesn't matter." Sensing a change of subject was needed, he sat back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. "So, what do you do, if you don't mind me asking?" 

"Oh, I'm in engineering." Hal said. 

"Oh? What sort of engineering?" Oddly enough, Snake was actually quite enjoying this. It wasn't often that he just got to sit and talk to people who weren't soldiers like himself. 

"Mainly software, that sort of thing. Not very exciting, unfortunately." Hal smiled apologetically. 

"So, you do computers and things?" 

"Yeah, well, sort of. Mostly I develop software for military systems. Nothing very important." 

"Sounds interesting." Snake told him. Hal laughed. 

"It's all right, you don't need to spare my feelings." He said. "It's a dull job, I know." 

"No, I mean it." Snake said, and surprisingly he actually did. "I'm always in awe of people who understand that sort of thing." 

"Really?" Hal looked faintly surprised. "Most people tend to tell me I'm boring." 

Snake shrugged, turning away a little to sip his coffee. 

"Well, like I said, computers and that sort of thing just don't make sense to me." He said. "It's like a foreign language, except if it was I'd probably be okay at it." 

"Oh?" Hal looked interested by this. "Do you speak many languages?" 

"Six." Snake said, looking down. "Well, six fluently." 

Hal whistled. 

"That's impressive." He said. Snake shrugged. 

"I was in the military, special forces, it was kinda part of the job. Plus it was something I was good at, y'know?" 

"Do you speak Japanese?" The question was out of the blue, and Snake looked up in surprise. 

"Yeah... why?"

"Oh... No reason." Hal's cheeks coloured faintly. He was clearly embarrassed, so Snake raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lip quirking up into a half smile. 

"Something interesting, then?" He asked. Hal's blush deepened further. "Got some secret Japanese lover?" 

"What? No, no, I just..." He tailed off nervously. 

"Relax, kid, I'm just messing with you." Snake grinned. 

"Oh!" Hal laughed a little, his shoulders visibly relaxing. Snake sipped his coffee, still smiling. He hadn't expected this to be quite as fun as it was. 

 

They passed an hour or so over their coffees, making meaningless small talk. Snake found himself enjoying Hal's company, and Hal certainly seemed to enjoy his, because as they were leaving he turned to him, blushing faintly. 

"I... um... I really enjoyed talking to you, Dave." He said. 

"Me too." Dave smiled. He meant it, too. 

"Do you, um... do you want to do this again some time?" Hal asked. Dave stared at him for a few moments, before nodding slowly. 

"Yeah, all right." He said. Hal grinned. 

"Really? I...um, sorry, it's just, most people don't tend to say yes." 

"Take it easy, kid. I like you." Dave smiled. "I'd like to see you again. Don't tend to get out much, these days." 

"Me neither." Hal sighed. "Here, I'll give you my number." 

"Okay, um..." Snake pulled out his phone, fumbling with the touchscreen for a bit. He wasn't very good at dealing with modern technology, all this computer stuff just didn't hold with him. It may well have done, if he'd taken the time to learn, but he just couldn't see the point. 

"Here, let me." Hal said, reaching out for the phone. Snake handed it over with a slightly awkward shrug. 

"I'm not good at that sorta stuff." He muttered. 

"Ah, don't worry. It's kinda my remit." Hal smiled. He put the number in, then handed it back. 

"So, I'll see you sometime soon?" He asked hopefully. 

"Yeah." Snake smiled, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that was telling him this was a very bad idea. Hell, he didn't have to see him again if he didn't want to, or he could set up a meeting and shoot him from the rooftops. It was never a bad idea to have a method of getting close to your targets, or at least that's what he told himself. 

"Well, I, um... I guess I'll see you then." Hal said. 

"Yeah, I'll see you around." Snake said. He held out his hand, more on impulse than anything, and Hal shook it.

"Bye." He said. 

"Bye, Dave." Hal returned, turning away. Dave watched him go, before turning to head back to the hotel. He had a lot of things to think about. 

 

"No, Colonel. So far, I have nothing to report." Snake glared at the wall of his hotel, making his mandatory daily situation report to Colonel Campbell. He had gone back to the hotel, showered and had a sleep, before sitting down to have a serious think about the situation. He'd decided, after a lot of thought, to not tell the Colonel that he'd made contact with Hal. He'd had enough of the man controlling every aspect of his life. He wanted, for once, to be able to do something because he wanted to. He had no doubt that he would finish the mission, in time, but (and he hated to admit it) he liked the kid. 

"I see." The Colonel said over the codec. "Well, our intel suggests that Emmerich will be in Detroit very soon." 

"I'll keep an eye out." 

"Be sure that you do, Snake. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the importance of this mission?" 

"No, Colonel." 

"Good. Report back as soon as you make contact." 

"I will." 

"Good work, Snake." The Colonel signed off. Snake lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with a sigh. The little voice in his head from earlier was talking again, louder this time, telling him that this was a really bad idea. He switched on the TV to drown it out. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to run away back to Alaska to be with his huskies. 

"And Hal?" An even smaller voice at the back of his mind said. Snake ignored it. He sure as hell wasn't ready to even think about that yet. 

 

They arranged to meet up again two days later at the same coffee shop. Snake was still stalling to Campbell, telling him that there had been a few setbacks, but that he was working on it. It was kinda fun, really, spinning him a line like this. 

Hal was waiting outside the door for him, smiling when he saw him. 

"Hi Dave." He said. 

"Hey, kid." Snake smiled back, opening the door to let Hal in. They ordered their coffees and sat in their booth, Snake feeling more relaxed than he had done in days. 

"I'm really glad you agreed to this." Hal said. "I... don't really have that many friends, so it's nice to..." 

"Yeah, I know." Snake muttered. "Been up to much?" 

"Not really. You?" 

"No. Work's kinda slow." Snake ran a hand through it is. "You know how it is." 

"Mmmm." Hal sipped his drink. "How's your face?" 

"Not so bad." Snake smiled. "I've had worse." 

"I really am sorry about that." 

"Honestly, it's fine." Snake told him. 

"But..." 

"Stop apologising, Hal." Snake said firmly. 

"Sorry." Hal muttered. Snake gave him a look, but it dissolved into laughter. Hal laughed too, smiling into his coffee. 

 

After their coffee, they decided to meet up again the next day. Neither of them were going to be in town for long after all, and Hal seemed determined to see as much of him as possible. Snake found this a bit odd, but then he had to keep reminding himself that Hal didn't know who he was, or why he was there. As far as Hal knew, Snake was just some guy he accidentally knocked over with his bike, and had since become friends. That word made his stomach do a strange, whooshing movement, and not for the first time, Snake wondered if this wasn't a good idea.

There was nothing he could do about it now, though. He'd grown attached to Hal, but that didn't mean anything. Personal feelings had no place in a mission like this, he'd finish the job. He'd just make the most of this time, first. After all, Campbell wasn't suspicious, yet. He reckoned he had a few more days of being able to fob him off with excuses, before he started to get impatient. Once that happened, then he'd kill Hal, and he'd go back to his normal life. Forgive him for wanting something a bit different for a while. 

 

"Can I ask you a question?" Snake asked suddenly. Hal looked up from his coffee in surprise. 

"What's that?" 

"I, um... I've been having some problems with my computer. I was wondering if you could take a look at it?" 

"Oh." Hal nodded slowly. "Yeah, all right. Any idea what's wrong with it?" 

"Not really. It just... won't work." Snake shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me that, too." 

"Well, I'll certainly look. Not sure if I'll be able to fix it for you, without all of my stuff, but I'll see what I can do." 

"Thanks." That little voice was back, telling him that this was stupid, that he should just get on with it and kill him, but it was getting fainter. 

"When do you want me to take a look?" Hal asked. 

"Whenever. Sooner rather than later, perhaps." 

"I can look now, if you like." Hal offered. 

"That would be great." Snake smiled, though inside his heartbeat had sped up somewhat, and he didn't know why. This was ridiculous. 

Hal drained the last of his coffee, so Snake did likewise, and they both stood up, heading out of the coffee shop. 

 

"So this is where you're staying?" Hal asked, looking around as Snake lead him into the room. 

"Yeah. It's not much, my boss doesn't like to spend too much on me, but it serves its purpose." Snake slipped off his jacket and threw it down on the bed. "You want something to drink, or...?" 

"No, that's all right." Hal smiled. "So, where's the computer?" 

"Oh, here it is." Snake grabbed the laptop and handed it to him. 

"Thanks, can I...?" He indicated the bed. 

"Sure." 

"Thanks." Hal sat down, and Snake sat next to him, interested to watch. Hal quickly booted up the laptop, opening things Snake didn't even know it was possible to open. 

"Ah, I see what the problem is." Hal smiled. "I can fix that easy enough, it'll take me a few minutes." 

"Great, thank you." Snake smiled back. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?" 

"No, I'm fine, thanks." 

"Well, if you're sure." Snake couldn't help but glance over to his bag in the corner. This was the perfect opportunity, he should kill him now, but something was telling him not to. It just seemed... wrong. 

"Nothing was broken, was it?" Hal asked. 

"What?" 

"In your bag, when I knocked you over the other day. Nothing was broken?" 

"No." Snake half smiled. "Everything was fine." 

"Good, I was worried I might have done some permanent damage." Hal told him, looking up from the keyboard. 

"Nah, you're all right." Snake told him. "There wasn't anything that breakable in there, anyway." 

"Good." Hal turned back to the keyboard. "This shouldn't take me too long." 

"Great." Snake looked down at his hands. They were shaking a little, and he didn't understand why. 

"Are you all right?" 

"What?" Snake looked back at Hal sharply. 

"Are you all right? You seem distant." Hal was looking at him closely. 

"I'm fine." Snake gave him a somewhat unconvincing smile. God, why did he feel so nervous all of a sudden? He hadn't felt nerves like this since he killed his very first man. What the hell was wrong with him? 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just need a smoke." Snake stood up suddenly. This was stupid. He'd go outside, have a smoke, get his head together and then do the job. Yes, that was a good plan. He grabbed his smokes off the dresser and stepped out onto the balcony, leaving Hal sitting on his bed, looking faintly bemused. 

 

The fresh air did nothing to clear his head. In fact, the quiet only made it worse. He lit his cigarette, blowing out an angry cloud of smoke. The voice was back, shouting louder than ever, but there was another voice in his head too, a voice that was shouting a completely compelling counter argument. It was enough to make his head ache. He groaned, closing his eyes and resting his head against his hand. 

"Dave?" Hal's voice from behind him made him jump, and he spun around to look at him. 

"Yes?" 

"I finished the computer. It should work fine now." 

"Oh. Thanks." 

"Are you sure you're all right?" Hal sounded concerned. "You look a bit pale." 

"Fine." He took a long drag from his cigarette. There was a moment's silence, before he was aware of Hal coming to stand beside him. 

"It's a hell of a view." He said quietly. 

"Mmm." Snake sighed. "Makes up for the shitty room that bastard got me, anyway." 

"Not a fan of your boss, then?" Hal asked. Snake snorted. 

"Not exactly." He said. 

"Well, I'm glad he sent you here." Hal told him. Snake looked at him. 

"Why?" He asked. 

"Because if he hadn't, I wouldn't have met you." Hal said quietly. Snake stared at him for a moment, before turning away to take a final drag from his cigarette in order to hide how much those words hurt him. Oh, Christ, Hal, if only you knew... 

"Dave?" There was a slightly different quality in his voice, and he put a gentle hand on Snake's shoulder. Snake, against his better judgement, turned to face him. 

Hal leant towards him, grey eyes boring into his own. Snake stared back at him, trying to work out what the hell he was doing. Hal suddenly seemed to come to a decision and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him close and... kissing him? Snake's brain utterly short-circuited at the feel of Hal's dry lips on his own, kissing him gently as if to avoid aggravating the cut on his lip. His body froze up, his muscles locking solid. This wasn't right, he was supposed to be killing the man, not kissing him! 

He came to his senses suddenly as Hal's tongue pushed against his lips, and he pushed him away forcefully. Hal, to his credit, stepped back immediately, though there was a slightly hurt and nervous expression on his face. 

"I'm sorry, I..." He started, but Snake cut him off. 

"Hal, listen to me." He said. "This cannot happen." 

"Oh." Hal looked down. "Okay..." 

Snake felt his heart pull at the expression on the younger man's face. God damn it, how the fuck had he got himself into such a stupid situation? Campbell had always told him that getting close to his targets was a bad fucking idea. 

"Listen." He said quietly, causing Hal to look up. "There's something you should know about me." 

"What is it?" Hal asked. 

 

In response, Snake lead him to his room and pulled out his bag. He began systematically laying his arsenal out on the bed, not looking at Hal as he did so. When he did finally look up, Hal was staring at him in shock. 

"What...?" He started. Snake sighed. 

"I'm an assassin." He said quietly. "I was sent here by my employers to kill you." 

"An assassin?!" Hal repeated. 

"Yes." Snake said quietly. "Now you do you see why this can't happen?" 

"But..." Hal seemed to be struggling for words. "That's ridiculous!" 

"Is it?" Snake folded his arms. "Why else do you think I would be carrying so many weapons? Why else do you think I wouldn't tell you what I did for a living? I was sent here by FOXHOUND, the organisation whose system you were trying to hack, to eliminate you." 

Hal's eyes widened incredulously. 

"...Holy shit." 

"Yeah." Snake nodded. "You probably ought to leave." 

He turned to show him to the door, but Hal's next words stopped him in his tracks. 

"If you were sent here to kill me, why didn't you?" 

Snake turned back to him. 

"What?" 

"If you're really an assassin, and you were really sent here to kill me, why didn't you? I mean, you had plenty of opportunity." Hal was staring at him. Now it was Snake's turn to look down. 

"At first..." He said. "It was just an excuse. To get to know you better, to get close enough to be able to kill you, and to say a great big 'fuck you' to Campbell, but then... strange as it sounds, I actually started to enjoy spending time with you. And... well, I couldn't bring myself to kill you." 

"Are you saying this... all this... was a lie?" Hal asked him quietly. 

"It started out as a lie." Snake told him. "You were just a target. But... well, I got close. Probably too close. So I'm giving you the chance to go, now, before this gets any worse." 

Hal didn't move. 

"What are you going to do now?" He asked. 

"... What do you mean?" 

"Are you going to kill me?" Hal's eyes were wide, watching him. Snake shook his head. 

"No." He said. "I can't kill you. Not now." 

"But... what are your employers going to say?" 

"Why do you care about that?" Snake raised an eyebrow. "I just told you I was sent here by them to kill you." 

"Yeah, but... won't they be mad at you if you don't?" 

"Sorry... are you trying to convince me I should kill you?" 

"No, but..." Hal ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit Snake had seen him do many times before. 

"Don't worry about it." He muttered. "I'll deal with them." 

"Will you... be all right?" Hal sounded concerned. Snake didn't understand him. Why the hell would he be concerned for him when he had literally just told him he had been sent here to kill him. 

"I'll be fine." He said, before laughing bitterly. "There's not much more they can take from me, after all." 

He turned away from him, shoving his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. 

"Get out of here. Go hide somewhere, keep your head down. I'll report in and say I've done it, it'll be a little while before they realise anything's wrong, plenty enough time for you to disappear as long as you don't do anything stupid like trying to hack FOXHOUND again. If they find you, they'll send other people after you, and they definitely won't hesitate to kill you." 

"What about you?" 

"What about me?" Snake shrugged. 

"Won't they be upset if you lie to them?" 

"Probably. But, hell, they've already threatened me with jail enough times, what's one more thing to add to the list, huh? I'm serious, kid. Get out while the going's good." 

"No." 

"What?" Snake looked up sharply, surprised by Hal's quiet word. 

"I said no. I'm not going anywhere. Do you know why I was trying to break into FOXHOUND's system?" 

"No." 

"Because I have it on reliable authority that they've been doing illegal genetic experiments, using soldiers as test subjects. They want to turn their soldiers into genetically enhanced weapons!" Hal's eyes were bright, intent. Snake was just vaguely confused. 

"That's ridiculous..." But the more he thought about it, the more he could see it happening. After all, they'd injected him with the nanomachines against his will, hadn't they? What's to say they hadn't been experimenting on people? Hell, they'd given him enough mystery shots in his time with them. 

He slowly looked up at Hal, seeing the fervour in the man's eyes. 

"You could help me expose it, Dave!" He said. "We could show the whole world what FOXHOUND's been doing to people like you!" 

"I can't, Hal." Snake said quietly. 

"Why not?" 

"Because every moment I'm with you, they'll know where you are. They put nanomachines in my blood, they can track my location. They'd notice if I just upped and left with you. At least while I'm in Detroit they will think I'm still looking for you." Snake said. 

"You mean they track you, wherever you are?" 

"Yeah." Snake sighed. "They've had me under their thumb for years now. If I try and run they'll throw me in prison, or just get rid of me altogether, I mean I've probably given them enough reason." 

"Christ..." Hal looked slightly horrified. "They're blackmailing you into working for them?" 

Snake shrugged. 

"My own damn fault, really. They don't take overly kindly to insubordination and murder in the military." 

"Murder?" 

"They dragged me out of retirement, and I wasn't happy about it. I killed two of the men they sent after me." 

"Christ." 

"Yeah." Snake snorted. "That's why I'm not exactly the best of people to hang around with." 

"Dave..." Hal took a step towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't have to be this way." 

"It's nice of you to want to look out for me, doctor, but I'm beyond saving now." Snake told him. 

"That's not true! I can help you!" 

"Why would you help me?" 

"Because you could have killed me, and you didn't." Hal said quietly. "And because..." 

"Because what?" Snake asked. 

"Because you're the first person who actually genuinely seemed to like me, and I can't let these bastards get away with what they've done to you. I... I think I'm in love with you, Dave." 

There was silence for a moment after this outburst, Snake staring at Hal in shock. 

"You're... what?" He asked slowly, convinced he'd heard him wrong. 

"I'm in love with you." Hal repeated quietly. "Now will you let me help you?" 

Snake was still staring at him, utterly dumbfounded. 

"Even after...?" He started. 

"Even after finding out you were sent here to kill me?" Hal asked. Snake nodded slowly. Hal half smiled. 

"Maybe... maybe even more so. I mean, you could have killed me at any time, but you didn't. You're prepared to lie to the superiors who, by your own admission, have blackmailed you into working for them, in order to protect me and... well, the least I can do is help you, Dave." 

 

Hal was looking at him earnestly with those grey eyes of his. Snake was still confused, but he didn't make any attempt to stop him as he approached him, reaching out to touch his face. He didn't stop him when he wrapped an arm gently around his back, holding him close. 

"Hal, are you sure about this?" He asked quietly. 

"Of course." Hal told him. 

"If you stay with me, they'll probably kill you, I don't think you..." He was cut off by Hal putting a finger on his lips. 

"I understand that, David. But I've made up my mind." He reached up and kissed him gently, before pulling back to look him in the eyes. "Okay?" 

Snake nodded mutely, and Hal kissed him again, more passionately this time. Despite the little voice telling him that this was a spectacularly bad idea, Snake let him, winding his arms around him and kissing him back. Hal pushed him back until he bumped against the bed. 

"Wait..." He gasped, pushing Hal back. "'S guns everywhere." 

"What?" Hal looked down at the bed. "Oh. Should probably put those away." 

"Uh huh." Snake turned away from him, picking up the guns quickly and piling them carefully on the floor. "'S'alright, they're not loaded." 

"Good." The moment he was finished, Hal grabbed him and pushed him down on the bed, kissing him hard. Snake gasped as Hal's hands slipped under his shirt, tracing the lines of his muscles. One of them slipped over his stomach to rest on his belt buckle. 

"Is this okay?" Hal asked, pulling back to look at him. Snake paused for a moment, thinking about it. He wanted to ask the little voices in his head, but even before he could, one of them was yelling 'yes, yes, of course it's okay!' He nodded slowly, looking Hal in the eyes. 

"Yeah." He smiled. "It's more than okay." 

Apparently, that was all Hal needed. 

 

When Snake awoke the next morning, it was to find his face buried in someone's hair, his arms wrapped around their slim waist. 

Shit. Hal. So that had really happened. This was bad. 

Carefully, he extracted himself from the embrace, slipping silently out of bed and into the bathroom. He grabbed hold of the sink and stared hard at himself in the mirror. 

What the hell had he been thinking? He should never have done this, should have just made the kid leave and gone back to his work. Because now he cared about Hal, and worse, Hal cared about him. Being around him wasn't safe, any day now the Campbell could get tired of waiting and send someone after him, and then he'd have to defend Hal from one of his colleagues. He snorted at the irony of it all. Protecting the very man he had been sent here to kill? How fucking professional. He'd gone against everything anyone had ever taught him, forgotten all those skills that had allowed him to survive for so long. Personal feelings should have no place on a mission such as this, yet here he was, putting the one damn person who cared about him in danger because of his own stupid feelings. 

"Dave?" Snake looked up at the sound of Hal's voice, watching the younger man in the mirror as he stood behind him. "Are you all right?" 

"You should go." Snake said quietly. 

"Dave, we've already..." Hal started, but Snake cut him off. 

"Every moment you're with me, you're in danger, Hal." He growled. "And I... I care far too much about you to let them kill you." 

"Actually, I've been thinking about that." Hal said. This threw Snake a little. 

"What?" 

"Well, you say these nanomachines can track your location, right?" 

"Yes..." 

"Well, then they should be giving out a signal. Which means I can block it, or better still, make it feed false information back so that you can get away without them realising." Hal told him. Snake stared. 

"You can do that?" 

"I should be able to, if you'll allow me to get a good look at them." Hal nodded. "Should be relatively simple." 

"You'd do that?" Snake asked slowly. "For me?" 

"Of course I would, Dave, we've been through this." 

"Yeah, but I..." 

"I care about you, Dave. How many times do I have to tell you that before you'll believe me?" Hal came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his head on his shoulder. "I want to help you." 

"Okay." Snake said quietly. 

"Great. I'll have to get all of my equipment first, but once I have it it shouldn't take me long to get hold of your little robots." 

"You an do that later." Snake decided. "Right now, I'm going to take a shower." 

"Is that an invitation?" Hal asked with a smirk. 

"Do you want it to be?" Snake raised an eyebrow. 

"Uh huh." 

"Then it is." He grabbed Hal by the hand and pulled him over to the shower, turning on the water. 

 

After their shower, Hal went back to his hotel to grab his equipment, leaving Snake alone to ponder the turn of events. He got dressed and had a smoke, leaning over the balcony with a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He allowed himself a little smile. Perhaps this wasn't as bad an idea as he'd thought. 

It was then that his codec rang, surprising him a little. It was nowhere near the time he should be checking in, what did the Colonel want? 

"Snake?" Campbell did not sound happy. 

"Yes sir?" Snake asked. 

"Have you made contact with your target yet?" There was a definite note of impatience in his voice. Somehow, Snake didn't think stalling would work any more. 

"Yes sir," He said. "I've managed to track him down." 

"Good." Campbell at least sounded a little pleased about that. "How long until you can complete your mission?" 

"I'm not sure, sir." Snake told him. "Perhaps another couple of days?" 

"A couple of days?!" 

"I'm sorry, sir, but..." 

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Snake, I want you to get the job done. You don't seem to have approached this mission with anywhere near your normal level of professionalism. Am I going to have a problem with you?" 

"No sir." 

"Good. I want your mission finished by tomorrow evening, or I will send Raiden to finish it for you, is that clear?" 

"Yes sir." Snake growled, gritting his teeth. That bastard wanted to send his pet to finish his work? Even though he had no intention of doing the job, that still rankled with his professional pride.

"Excellent. I'm glad we understand each other, Snake." With that, the Colonel signed off. Snake sighed, taking a long drag from his cigarette. So that was how it was, was it? That meant they only had until tomorrow evening to sort the nanomachines, or things were going to get very uncomfortable around here. 

Slipping back into his room, he picked up his SOCOM and slipped it into the holster he wore. He knew Raiden, the kid was good at what he did (which was mainly shooting people and not asking questions). It wouldn't hurt to be prepared. 

 

"Hal, we have a problem." Snake said as he opened the door to him. 

"Well, that's a hell of a way to greet a guy." Hal replied, coming into the room and setting his equipment on the bed. "What sort of a problem?" 

"Campbell's fed up of me stalling. He wants you dead by tomorrow night, or he's going to send another assassin to do it." 

Hal stared at him for a moment. 

"Oh." He said. "Oh dear." 

"Exactly. How long will it take you to sort the nanomachines?" Snake asked. 

"Well..." Hal considered. "That really depends on how easy they are to hack into. It probably won't take me more than, I dunno, two days?" 

"That's the problem." Snake sighed. 

"Don't worry, Dave, it shouldn't take as long as that. Best get started as quickly as possible, though." 

"Good idea." Snake ran a hand through his hair. "Uhhh... what do you want me to do?" 

"Just sit on the bed for me." Hal told him. Snake nodded, sitting gingerly on the bed. 

"This isn't going to hurt, is it?" He asked. Hal gave him a look. 

"'Course not." He said. "Don't be such a baby." 

"Well, you're not the one having his blood messed about with." Snake said defensively. 

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Hal said. 

"Do you?" Snake asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Well... theoretically." Hal shrugged. "I mean, how hard can it be." 

Snake didn't say anything, but the look he gave Hal spoke louder than any words. Hal smiled sheepishly. 

"You'll be fine." He said. "Promise." 

Somehow, Snake didn't find that all too reassuring. Nonetheless, he sat still, and allowed Hal to work. 

 

He didn't have any real idea of what Hal was doing to him, but it didn't seem to hurt, so other than that he didn't mind. It just involved sitting still for an hour, and being told to shut up by Hal whenever he tried to speak. Currently, the engineer seemed to be staring at his laptop screen, frowning in consternation. 

"What's wrong?" Snake asked. Hal glanced up at him. 

"It's going to take longer to establish a connection than I thought." He said. "The signal's been encrypted to stop anyone doing exactly this." 

"Can you get past it?" Snake asked, slightly worried. 

"'Course I can." Hal told him. "Just gonna take a little longer, that's all." 

"How much longer?" 

Hal frowned, punching a few keys. 

"I don't know." He admitted. "Hopefully not more than a few hours, but it could take anything up to a day." 

"A day?!" Snake stared incredulously. "Hal, we don't have that long!" 

"Do you want me to do this or not?" 

"Yes, but..." 

"Then I suggest you let me get on with it. I'll need you to stay nearby, but you don't actually have to do anything, so feel free to go to sleep or whatever." Hal said. Snake sighed, nodding. 

"Okay." Having nothing better to do, he grabbed his bag, and began cleaning his guns. 

Slowly, he became aware that Hal was no longer typing, and looked up to find him staring at his hands. 

"What?" He asked, a little self conscious. 

"Huh?" Hal started, as if only just realising he was staring. "Sorry, I just... I was just watching the way you do that." 

"How come?" 

"I dunno, it's just... oddly mesmerising. Looks like you could do it with your eyes closed." 

"I could." Snake said. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, well, in my job you have to be absolutely in tune with the weapon, you have to be able to feel it, feel how many bullets you've got left, how the gun's going to react to certain conditions. I can't tell you how many times my life's been saved by knowing my weapon better than my enemy knew his." 

"That's incredible." Hal breathed. 

"Is it?" This surprised Snake a little. 

"Well, y'know..." Hal was blushing a bit. "I mean you seem so..." He tailed off. Snake laughed. 

"Why don't you get back to your work, doctor?" He suggested. Hal nodded, blushing deeper. 

"Yes." He said. "Work. That's right." 

He turned back to his keyboard, and Snake to his guns, though the latter was smiling just slightly. 

 

It was about lunchtime when Hal announced he had made contact with Snake's nanomachines. 

"Finally." Snake said, only to have to dodge the cushion Hal launched at him. "What was that for?" 

"Don't you take that tone with me." Hal scolded. "I'm working as quick as I can." 

"Okay, okay!" Snake held his hands up. "I'm sorry." 

"Good. As your punishment, you can go and buy me some lunch." 

"Oh, is that how it is?" Snake asked, amused. Hal nodded. 

"That's how it is." 

"And what if I don't want to buy you lunch?" Snake folded his arms. 

"Then I'll have to make you." It was the utter calmness with which Hal said this that made Snake laugh. 

"You?" He grinned. "I'd like to see you try." 

"Oh, all right then." Hal put his laptop on the bedside table, and without further warning leapt for Snake. Snake would normally have been able to catch Hal and turn the tables easily, but whether by luck or by judgement Hal's sharp elbow managed to dig into a sensitive point on his side, and Snake jerked with a yelp, flailing backwards and allowing Hal to pin him. 

"What happened there?" Hal asked from where he was straddling Snake's hips, pinning his wrists above his head. 

"I don't think this is exactly conducive to making me go buy lunch."

"Oh no you don't, don't try and change the subject. You yelped." 

"No I didn't." 

"Yes you did." Hal looked down at him, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Dave, are you ticklish?" 

"Don't be absurd." 

"Oooh, I bet you are." His face took on a positively mischievous expression, and he suddenly let go of Snake's hands to dig his fingers into his sides. Snake squeaked, trying to push him away. 

"Hal, you bastard!" 

"You are ticklish!" Hal crowed, mercilessly exploiting the fact. Snake flailed gracelessly, trying to push him away, giggling helplessly. 

"Stop that!" 

"No." 

"Hal!" 

"What are you gonna do about it, hmm?" Hal grinned, running his fingers lightly down Snake's sides and making him give a very embarrassing high pitched squeak. 

"You son of a bitch!" 

"You love me really." 

"If I say I do, will you stop tickling me?" 

"Maybe." 

"Okay fine, yes, I do." 

"Aww, that's sweet." Hal didn't stop tickling. 

"You said you'd stop!" 

"I said I might." Hal grinned. 

"Right!" Snake grabbed him and flipped their positions easily, making Hal yelp at the sudden movement. "You asked for it!" 

He loomed over Hal, kissing down his neck and grinding their hips together, his hands trailing over Hal's stomach. Hal gasped, closing his eyes and putting his head back. 

"Keep doing that." He murmured. Snake, however, pulled back with a grin. 

"Hmm, no, I don't think so." He said, jumping off Hal and grabbing his jacket. Hal opened his eyes to look at him with a confused and hurt expression. 

"What? Come back here!" 

"Nope. I'm going to get some lunch." He opened the door and slipped out, before popping his head back round the door. "See you later!" 

"You son of a bitch!" Hal yelled frustratedly as Snake closed the door. He laughed at something that sounded suspiciously like a shoe thumped against the wood, before heading towards the lift. 

 

He went to their coffee shop to pick them up some lunch, by now having memorised Hal's frankly ridiculous order. In retrospect, perhaps it wasn't the most sensible thing to have done, but all he was thinking about in the line was the way Hal smiled at him, the way he'd looked while watching him cleaning his guns. God, he really was fucking screwed, wasn't he? 

He ordered their food and their drinks and paid in cash, something Campbell at least had the decency to make sure he had plenty of, then turned to head back to the hotel. It was crowded in the shop, being lunch time, which may have been what saved him. He was half way towards the door when it opened, and he caught sight of a flash of white blond hair. Instinctively he ducked back behind a convenient pillar, and it was lucky he did, because then the man turned and he recognised his face. 

Shit. Raiden. 

The other assassin was making his way towards the counter, seemingly mindless of the myriad of people around him, so Snake began to make his way nonchalantly over to the door. As long as Raiden didn't turn, he wouldn't see him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Raiden talking to one of the baristas, the one who had served him and Hal yesterday. 

Oh fuck, this was bad. If he was doing what Snake thought he was doing and trying to find out why Snake had been spending so much time here, it wouldn't take much questioning for the girl to tell him about him and Hal. It wouldn't take much for Raiden to put two and two together, and then everything would be blown out of the water. 

Taking advantage of Raiden's distraction, Snake slipped out of the door and made a break for it, running back to the hotel as fast as he could. He shoved a man out of the way in order to commandeer a lift, and spent the ride up bouncing from one foot to the other, itching impatiently. They had to get out of here, before Raiden and Campbell realised what was going on. Even if Hal hadn't managed to finish the block, if they could get out of here to somewhere Snake could defend, he could hold them off. 

The lift reached his floor and Snake burst out before the doors had even finished opening, crossing the hall to his door in two long strides and throwing it open. 

"Dave?!" Hal jumped up from the bed in surprise, which turned into confusion when he saw the look on Snake's face. "What's wrong?" 

"Raiden's here." Snake said, slamming the door shut and going over to his bag, shoving all of his weapons back into it. 

"What?" 

"Raiden, the other assassin, he's here." 

"Where?" 

"At the coffee shop. He's right on our tail, we need to move." 

"But I haven't finished the block!" Hal protested. 

"It doesn't matter. If they find us here, a lot of people are gonna get hurt. Raiden's good at what he does." Snake glanced out of the windows, looking for sniping points. Far too many, this room wasn't safe. "Stay away from the windows." 

"What are we gonna do?" Hal asked fearfully. 

"There's just a chance that Raiden will be caught up at the coffee shop long enough for us to slip away to somewhere I can defend. Once we've done that, I'll call Campbell and negotiate." 

"He won't listen." 

"I know that, Hal, but I have to try. I'm sure as hell not killing you, but I'd really rather resolve this without killing Raiden and having to go on the run. He's a good kid, but he'll follow orders without question." 

Snake turned to Hal, urgency in his voice. 

"Grab everything you need. You'll have to finish the block later, that's all." Snake went over to the balcony doors to close them. However, as he did so, a movement caught his eye. Slowly, he looked down, to see the red dot of a laser sniper scope burning into his chest. 

"Ah." He said slowly. 

"What's wrong?" Hal asked. 

"I don't think we're going anywhere." Snake glanced over his shoulder to look at him, just as his codec rang. Taking a deep breath, he answered it. 

"Colonel." He said calmly. 

"Snake." Campbell's voice was seething with rage. "What do you think you're trying to pull? Did you think you could deceive me, huh? Get out onto the balcony, now, and bring Emmerich out with you." 

Snake sighed. 

"Hal." He said quietly. "Come out here." 

Hal looked at him nervously, but did as he said, and the two of them stepped out onto the balcony. 

"Are you armed, Snake?" Campbell asked. 

"Yes." Snake hissed through gritted teeth. The bastard wasn't going to make him... 

"Get out your weapon." 

"Sir..." 

"Do it!" Campbell snapped. Sensing he didn't really have a choice, Snake slowly pulled out his SOCOM. He took a deep breath, then raised it to point at Hal, who froze, eyes going wide. 

"Snake, what are you...?" 

"I'm sorry, Hal." Snake said quietly. 

"Finish your mission." Campbell commanded. Snake stood there, gun raised, but he couldn't pull the trigger, his hands shaking violently. 

"Finish your mission, Snake." Campbell growled over the codec, the sniper's laser dot slowly settling over his heart. Snake swallowed, adjusting his grip on the gun and looking at Hal, who was staring back at him in fear. Slowly, he shook his head. 

"I can't, sir." He said quietly. 

"It's not a good idea to disobey me, Snake." Campbell warned. "You are expendable. I can always find other assassins, people who wouldn't hesitate to do the job." 

"Other people you've experimented on, you mean? Other people you've brainwashed into being your pawn? I know what you're doing, Campbell, and I will not be a part of it any more. You've used me long enough." 

"This is your last warning, Snake. Finish your mission, or I will kill you." 

Snake met Hal's eyes, took a deep breath, then dropped the gun. 

"Sorry, Colonel." He said, turning away. "No can do." 

 

However, barely had he turned away before his body suddenly jerked, his eyes going wide. Hal could only watch, almost in slow motion, as he stumbled forward and sank to his knees, a bright red stain spreading across his shirt. He looked up at Hal, his eyes full of pain and fear, before he slowly pitched forward onto his face.

"No!" Hal gasped, diving towards Snake's prone form. Another bullet pinged over his head, but he ignored it, catching Snake by the shoulder. He didn't stir, but Hal barely noticed because all he could see was the horrible, bleeding wound in Snake's back. The bullet had gone in roughly in the centre of his left shoulder-blade and was bleeding badly, blood pouring down his back. 

"Oh God... Dave!" He pushed his hands against the wound, trying to stem the blood flow, but it continued to flow in terrifying amounts over his hand. This wasn't good, Dave was going to bleed to death in barely any time at all if he didn't do something, but his heart was racing and he was close to panic. He had never seen so much blood. 

 

Campbell watched silently as Snake's body jerked with the bullet impact, falling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Emmerich ran over to him, the sniper taking a pot shot at him, but he missed. 

"Should I kill him, sir?" He asked, lining up his scope on the kneeling figure. Campbell stared at him for a few moments, before shaking his head. 

"No, Raiden." He said. "Our work here is done." 

"But sir, shouldn't we...?" 

"Dr Emmerich will be dealt with in due time. For now, we should go." 

"What about Snake, sir?" 

"What about him?" Campbell looked down at him. "He disobeyed my orders, and he paid the price for it. It's simple." 

"But..." 

"But what?" 

"Well, he was one of us, sir." Raiden looked a little concerned by the turn of events. Campbell raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Would you like to end up the same way?" 

"No, sir." 

"Then I suggest you stop questioning my orders."

**Author's Note:**

> Is it obvious I really don't like Campbell? 
> 
> Partly inspired by this prompt on tumblr http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/107307091632/imagine-person-a-of-your-otp-being-an-assassin


End file.
